1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wiring unit housed in an electric connecting box mounted in a motor vehicle that is a moving body.
2. Description of the Related Art
The motor vehicle is generally provided with a variety of electronic appliances inclusive of lamps such as a head lamp, tail lamp, etc. motors such as a starter motor, a motor for an air conditioner, etc.
In order to supply power to the variety of electronic appliances, junction blocks are located at suitable position within the motor vehicle. The junction block is configured so that printed boards and wiring boards with elements such as bus bars are stacked and various electric circuit units such as a large number of fuses, relays, etc. are integrated on these wiring boards.
The junction block may include a fuse, relay, bus bar, etc. so that it is called a fuse block, relay box, or generally an electric connecting box. In this specification, the above fuse block, relay box, junction block, etc, are referred to as the electric connecting box.
The electric connecting box includes a case and a wiring plate, etc. The case can be provided with electric components such as a relay, fuse, connector. A plurality of electric wires connected to the various electric appliances are led into the case. The wiring plate, when it is housed in the case, electrically connects the electric wires connected to the various electric appliances to terminals of the various electric components in a prescribed pattern.
As the above wiring plate, in order to facilitate the connection of the respective electric wires to the terminals of the electric components, a wiring unit 54 as shown in FIG. 6 has been proposed. The wiring unit as shown in FIG. 6 includes a plurality of boards 61 which are stacked successively, a plurality of terminals 62 and a plurality of connecting bars 63. The boards 61 each is made of an insulating material. The boards 61 each is formed as a square flat plate. The boards 61 each includes a plurality of grooves 64, a plurality of concave portions 65 and a plurality of holes 66.
The grooves 64 each is formed in concave from the surface of the board 61. The grooves 64 each extends in a longitudinal direction of the board 61. The respective grooves 64 are formed in parallel to one another.
The concave portions 65 each is formed in concave from the surface of the board 61. The concave portions 65 each is opened into the groove 64. The concave portions 65 are provided in parallel to one another in the longitudinal direction of the corresponding groove 64. The concave portions 65 each is formed in a square shape when viewed from above.
The holes 66 each passes through the portion located at the bottom of the corresponding concave portion 65. The holes 66 are located at the corresponding positions when the boards are stacked successively.
The terminals 62 each is made from a metallic sheet. The terminal 62 is composed of an electric contact portion 67 and an electric-wire connecting portion 68. The electric contact portion 67 is adapted to receive in the above connecting bar 63. When the connecting bar 63 is received in the electric contact portion 67, it produces elastic restitutive force that impedes the insertion of the connecting bar 63 so that the relative position of the connecting bar 63 to the electric contact portion 67 is maintained.
The electric-wire connecting portion 68 permits an electric wire to be arranged unidirectionally. The electric-wire connecting portion 68 includes a crimping segment 70 on which the electric wire 69 can be crimped and a pair of electric-wire holding segments 71 which are located at the positions where the electric wire 69 is sandwiched in the direction of arranging the electric wire 69.
The crimping segment 70 is provided with two pairs of press-fitting blades 72, which cut the coating of the electric wire 69 to come in contact with the core thereof. The electric wire holding portions 71 each is provided with a pair of caulking pieces 73 between which the electric wire 69 with the coating is caulked. The caulking pieces 73 sandwiches the electric wire 69 therebetween so that the contact state of the press-fitting blades 72 of the crimping portion 70 and the core is maintained.
The electric contact portion 67 and the electric-wire connecting portion 68 are arranged at the positions where the electric wire 69 is not impeded. Specifically, in the direction of arranging the electric wire 69, the electric connecting portion 67 is arranged to intersect the electric-wire connecting portions 68.
The terminal 62 connects the electric wire 69 crimped on the crimping portion 70 or electric-wire connecting portion 68 and the connecting bar 63 inserted into the electric contact portion 67 to each other. The terminal 62 is attached to the board 61 in a state where the electric contact portion 67 is housed in the concave portion 65 and the electric connecting portion 68 is housed in the groove 64.
The connecting bar 63 is made of a conductive material. The connecting bar 63 is formed in a band shape. The connecting bar 63, when inserted into the hole 66 and the electric connecting portion 67 of the terminal 62, is electrically connected to the electric wire 69.
In the wiring unit having the configuration described above, the electric wires 69 connected to various electric appliances are arranged in the grooves 64. By stacking a plurality of boards 61 and optionally selecting the concave portions 65 and holes 66, the electric wires 69 are electrically connected to the relay, fuse, connector, etc. mounted in the above case according to a prescribed pattern.
In the wiring unit 54 shown in FIG. 6, since the grooves 64 and concave portions 65 are formed in the insulating plate 61, relatively complicated inequalities must be formed in the surface of the insulating plate 61. This requires the complicate shape of the mold which is used to shape the insulating plate 61, thus increasing the production cost.
In the wiring unit 54, in assembling, after the terminals 62 have been attached for each insulating plate 61, the electric wires 69 must be crimped. This may increase the number of man-hours for assembling and hence steep rise in the production cost.
The circuit configuration of the wiring unit 54 is composed of the electric wires 69 and terminals 62 arranged along each groove 64 and the respective connecting bars 63 inserted in the electric contact portions 67. In this way, the circuit configuration is composed of the electric wires and terminals 62 which are superposed on one another in a direction of stacking the insulating plates 61. This increases the limitation to circuit design and upsizes the wiring unit 54.
Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a wiring unit which can be manufactured at low cost and downsized.
In order to attain the above object, in accordance with this invention, there is provided a wiring unit comprising:
a plurality of flat circuit bodies each composed of an insulating plate and a plurality of conductors arranged thereon in parallel in a direction thereof, the circuit bodies being stacked successively vertically; and
a short-circuiting member composed of a plurality of pin segments and a coupling segment for electrically coupling the plurality of pin segments with each other, the short-circuiting member being made of a conductive material and covered with an insulating film on its surface, wherein
the pin segments with the insulating film partially removed are stuck into the flat circuit bodies so that the conductors are electrically connected to each other.
In this configuration, by selecting the conductors into which the pin segments of the short-circuiting member are stuck, the desired conductors can be electrically connected to each other surely in accordance with a prescribed pattern. In this way, the simple configuration of sticking the pin segments of the short-circuiting member can assure a desired electric connection. This reduces the number of man-hours for production of the components and for assembling, thereby suppressing a rise in production cost.
Further, the short-circuiting member has a plurality of pin segments so that the conductors arranged in parallel can be electrically connected to each other surely. This suppresses the limitation to the circuit design of the wiring unit and miniaturizes it.
In a preferred embodiment, the short-circuiting member is formed in a -shape with a pair of pin segments, and the interval between the pin segments is smaller than that between inner edges of the conductors adjacent to each other and larger than that between outer edges of the conductors adjacent to each other. Because of this arrangement, the conductors adjacent to each other can be electrically connected to each other surely by the short-circuiting member in accordance with the prescribed pattern.
In a further preferred embodiment, at least one of the conductors of at least one of the flat circuit bodies protrudes from its end to form a male tab which can be connected to an electric wire electrically connected to anexternal appliance. Because of such a configuration, an electric connection can be surely made between the conductors connected to each other and the external appliance in accordance with a desired pattern.
The above and other objects and features of this invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.